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No modern family starter kit is complete without a small crossover. On the automotive family evolutionary timeline, these crossovers live somewhere between a single person’s sports car and a family’s minivan. Young couples adore the sense of maturity and stability they represent. Crossovers can easily carry kids to school, bring groceries home, and still provide enough space for a a weekend Home Depot run. Older couples appreciate the easy ingress, egress, and utility after packing away the child seats for hobbies that require a folding second row.

Small crossovers typically provide more utility than a wagon, better gas mileage than an SUV, and more fun than a big sedan. And sales show no sign of slowing down. Segment sales climbed 9.3 percent in 2012, and all of this year’s test vehicles are selling strong. The Toyota RAV4’s sales jumped 30 percent last year; the Ford Escape (last year’s compact crossover winner) and Subaru Forester had modest increases; and the Mazda CX-5 sold 43,000 units during its first year.

The newest crop of CUVs makes the case that utility can still be fun to drive. Their firm suspensions, powerful I-4 engines, and quiet rides provide as much athleticism as some sporty sedans.

Outside of Santa Barbara, California, we put four such small crossovers to the test, traversing highways, twisty roads, and even a little dirt. Our group consisted of the all-new Subaru Forester 2.5i Touring, which comes standard with all-wheel drive, and front-drive versions of the Toyota RAV4 Limited, the upgraded 2.5-liter Mazda CX-5 Grand Touring, and the reigning champ, the Ford Escape SE 1.6 EcoBoost, which last go-around defeated the Honda CR-V, Kia Sportage, CX-5 2.0, and VW Tiguan.

All our top-trim CUVs cost about $30,000, including navigation and Bluetooth connectivity, and each is rated at over 30 mpg highway, making them ideal for a cross-country tour with the Grateful Dead or Phish. Sad to say, those fun and footloose college days are long past. It’s time to revisit the reality of responsibilities — carrying people and stuff in quiet comfort — without completely surrendering the driving fun of that GTI you drove in college. Viewed through that lens, which is the best small crossover?

For every good quality we found with the Escape, we found an equally disappointing one.

“On one hand, it has entertaining qualities (nice set for such a tall vehicle, decent steering response, quick and predictable reflexes),” noted associate online editor Nate Martinez. “Yet it provided a bumpy ride that families would likely not find ideal.”

“I like the Escape’s looks a lot. Its connectivity is tops, and its driving dynamics are solid,” added technical director Frank Markus. “But there are corners cut, low-cost evidence in some places (cargo hold), and wasted investment in others (soft-touch but cheap-look dash).”

These inconsistencies moved last year’s compact crossover winner to this year’s basement. Many testing numbers confirmed our suspicions about the car’s underwhelming performance. The Escape tied with the Subaru Forester for the worst 0-60 time at 9.0 seconds, had the worst passing time of 5.3 seconds to go from 45 to 65 mph, and took the longest distance — 126 feet — to stop from 60 mph.

It also got the worst gas mileage of all the vehicles tested — 21.1 mpg. The other three CUVs averaged at least 3 mpg more.

However, I thought the Escape provided the best second row of the bunch, complete with a 115-volt outlet for kids to keep their cellphones and games fully charged. The seats in both rows were well-bolstered, firm, and comfortable. Then again, the Escape had the least amount of passenger space in both rows. See? Yin and yang in the least complimentary form.

The Escape’s second row has a 115-volt outlet for kids to keep their cellphones and games fully charged

The Escape, while filled with features such as a huge sunroof, Sync, and a beautiful LCD screen on the center stack, lacked many of the amenities families would appreciate every day.

“No push-button start, power seat, backup camera, or leather (though I like the cloth) seats, and the price is comparable,” said executive editor Ron Kiino. “Not good news for Ford.”

Some of our disappointment might have come from high expectations, but most of it came from the performance of the other vehicles. If the Escape SE is the only crossover you drive, you’ll likely love it forever. But once you start to play the field, you’ll learn where the Escape falls short.

The 1.6-liter turbocharged four-cylinder engine acted like the tiny kid on the playground who could never keep up with the bigger boys. If you compare the Escape with the Forester, which has less horsepower and torque plus the burden of AWD, you’ll see they have exactly the same 0-60 times, but then the Forester pulls away as the Escape begins to pant like it’s out of breath.

All-new for the 2013 model year, the RAV4 seemed to score hit after hit during testing. But all those hits were singles. It achieved more than 24 mpg during our testing and had the second-best 0-60 time. But its new interior evoked mixed emotions.

“I like the neoclassic interior — colors, big knobs, round vents, stitched dash — and overall design is refreshing for this group, which is either too futuristic (Ford) or too bland/monotone (Subaru, Mazda),” said Kiino.

“The plastic dash and door tops make me wonder if the extra money should have gone to stitching a piece of vinyl on the edge of the dash,” said associate editor Rory Jurnecka. “The lower center stack is an ergonomic nightmare. I can’t see anything down there without taking my eyes off the road for too long.”

Worse yet, the RAV4 uses a center stack display screen that drivers cannot see if they’re wearing polarized sunglasses. Nonetheless, the RAV4’s interior caters more to function than artistic form, making it comfortable and predictable. Toyota‘s Entune app, which connects your smartphone, is way too involved, requiring the driver to input the RAV4’s VIN to register it.

There was a lot more agreement among editors on the RAV4’s performance, which most ranked as good. There was 176 hp available from its 2.5-liter four-cylinder engine, and the six-speed automatic transmission clicked through its gears quickly. Nothing dazzled us, but nothing disappointed us, either.

The RAV4 achieved more than 24 mpg during our testing and had the second-best 0-60 time

“I’m happy with the power available,” said associate editor Scott Evans. “It gets up to speed and passes fine.”

The RAV4 also comes with two enhanced driving modes: Eco and Sport. While on the road, a driver can press these buttons to change the transmission mapping and throttle inputs — one provides a more economical ride; the other delivers something that’s supposed to resemble a sporty feel.

“Press the Eco button, and you instantly have to feed in more throttle to maintain pace,” noted Markus. “Eco feels like a linebacker just climbed onboard. Dulls all responses to simulate big mass.”

Most of us were disappointed with the rear packaging, though the RAV4 offers the most cargo space. The Subaru and Mazda offered quick releases from the back of the cargo area to lower the seats with the liftgate open. The RAV4 and Escape did not.

With a mixed bag of features, the RAV4 is a safe choice. Its legendary reliability and improved performance will put it on many shopping lists. It’s good, but it’s no home run.

On paper, the Subaru Forester looks like a winner: all-wheel drive, big interior, great visibility, and just enough quirkiness to stand out in the crowded crossover segment. The engine feels like there’s always torque at the ready, and the new continuous variable transmission is a vast improvement over the last gen’s four-speed automatic, making the Forester feel faster than some of the other test vehicles.

“Subaru’s made a big leap forward with this CVT. They’ve taken all the elastic out of it,” said Evans. “Response feels immediate. It makes the power very linear.”

Added Markus, “The transmission makes the most of the engine’s meager 170 horsepower, instantly selecting an appropriate ratio when you hit the gas.”

Indeed, but it also provided a noisy ride, letting the sound of every bump echo around the cabin. Some of the appointments inside the cabin weren’t nearly as well-done as the competition. For example, I found the stereo system abysmal. It’s so bad, if I bought a Forester, I’d immediately rip out the stereo and replace it with an Audiovox cassette deck. The Subaru’s touch screen system makes changing stations difficult. It’s confusing to use, and requires your eyes to leave the road for too long, though you can control your iPod and radio station presets through the steering wheel controls.

This CVT is a big leap forward for Subaru. They’ve taken all the elastic out of it. The power is very linear

We also encountered problems with Subaru’s EyeSight driver assist system (part of a $2400 package), which uses stereovision cameras to provide lane departure and collision warnings, and adaptive cruise control. As the sun was setting, its rays temporarily blinded the cameras, disabling the system.

While the dash is less than impressive, the best-in-test passenger space throughout the cabin was noticeable and efficient.

“Very spacious all around, with big cupholders in both doors, which is great for kids and passengers,” said Martinez. “Subaru really does its cargo holds well — roomy and lined with rugged rubber.”

Additionally, the Forester is fun to drive, whether cruising along the highway or zipping along a mountain road. Its steering is taut, but the body sometimes felt loose in hard cornering.

“The Forester seems to have a little excess body motion. It’s not quite as well-controlled as some others,” said Jurnecka. “Smaller bumps seem to find their way in, resulting in vertical and side-to-side movement.”

On the plus side, the Forester, despite its standard AWD system, achieved the best fuel economy (24.9 mpg), out-sipping its FWD competition.

1st Place: 2013 Mazda CX-5

It simply stood above the competition with its graceful exterior, superb performance, and well-planned interior.

Last year, the CX-5 placed second in the crossover comparison, because its 2.0-liter, 155-hp powertrain held it back. This year, a new 2.5-liter four-cylinder engine and six-speed transmission powered it past the others with 184 hp and 185 lb-ft of torque. During testing, it had the fastest 0-60 time, beating everyone by nearly a second, and it still managed to achieve 24.4 mpg in average fuel economy. More to the point, the CX-5 was the most fun to drive.

“Stellar automatic,” noted Kiino. “It’s so intuitive. Come out of a corner, roll on throttle, and it drops a gear instantly and seamlessly.”

On the road, the CX-5 feels nimble, in part because it is the lightest of all the test vehicles, weighing in at 3355 pounds. That’s 89 pounds lighter than the Forester, the next lightest vehicle.

“Dynamically, the CX-5 is nothing but fun in the twisties,” logged Martinez. “Steering feel, weight transfer, low-end torque, shifting — it did it all well.”

The more you challenge the CX-5, the more it wants you to challenge it.

When life’s crossroads bring you to a small crossover, the CX-5 reminds you that the move isn’t punishment. It’s just the next step

“The Mazda continues to be the driver’s choice,” explained Evans. “It’s so smooth through the corners; so easy to place right where you want it. You can really fling it, and it’ll just smile and keep on going.”

Mazda has also done a nice job of packaging the CX-5 with family-friendly features. It was the only crossover to include a 40/20/40-split second row. You can lower each piece of the row independently while standing at the back of the vehicle with the liftgate open by pulling a lever.

The CX-5 also uses a unique sunscreen/cargo area cover connected to the tailgate instead of along the ledge of the second row, so it never gets in the way when you fold the seats down. It’s a small but ingenious feature.

The front of the cabin uses quality materials throughout, but nothing feels overstated. There’s little flash but lots of substance. The ride is smooth and quiet, but if you gun the throttle, the CX-5 will push you back into the seat and put a grin on your face.

When life’s crossroads bring you to a small crossover, the CX-5 reminds you that the move isn’t punishment. It’s just the next step. You can still have fun and carve a mountain road every now and then.

Say you’ve bought into the whole downsized, smaller-footprint lifestyle, but you’re just not patient enough to spend eight or nine painful seconds achieving highway speeds. Well, two of our mainstreamers can be had with sufficient juice to hit 60 mph in the sixes, with handling upgrades to keep you smiling when the streets turn serpentine. Ford offers its 2.0-liter, 240-hp, 270-lb-ft EcoBoost engine as a stand-alone $1095 option on SE and SEL models, but you have to pop for the top-shelf Titanium model to replicate the handling results the 19-inch wheels gave our all-wheel-drive test car. Ordering Subaru’s 2.0-liter, 250-hp, 258-lb-ft flat-four turbo requires a step up to the XT model, which corrals a suite of related performance hardware into a $3000 upgrade. Which turbo CUV is best?

Ford’s big EcoBoost engine represents an acceleration-performance bargain. If you take a base SE and add $1750 for all-wheel drive and $1095 for the 2.0-liter engine, you’ll spend $28,810 — an 11 percent price premium that improves weight-to-power by some 23 percent and boosts 0-60-mph on-ramp acceleration by 24 percent. That’s pretty decent return on investment, and 3500-pound towing (best in class) gets thrown into the deal for the price of a $395 Class II hitch. The EPA reckons your fuel economy will drop by 11 percent, but our real-world mileage registered just 0.3 mpg less than the thirsty 1.6 front-driver’s in 180 miles of freeway cruising and 250 back-road miles.

So the 2.0-liter is the logical engine of choice in an Escape, but remember that you’ll have to spend another $2385 for the Titanium model to get the 19-inch footwear that helped our Escape trump the rest of the field by a half-second on our figure-eight course.

Numbers aren’t everything, however, and on the back roads Kiino dinged the Escape for excessive roll and understeer in tight corners, while Jurnecka found it offered “less control, making the 2.0 feel a little clumsy.” Others complained that the transmission’s S mode still allowed decidedly unsporting mid-corner upshifts, and grumbled about the substitution of a +/- toggle on the shifter for proper paddles. We universally adore the Escape’s exterior styling and innovative features such as the hands-free tailgate, but in the end, we had trouble swallowing the $34,735 as-tested price, given the “low-rent and gimmicky dash that reminds [Kiino] of Darth Vader’s helmet.”

Clearly, Subaru’s efforts paid off in upsizing the wheels, tires, and brakes; tweaking the springs, dampers, and roll rate; reinforcing the rear suspension cradle; and giving the CVT three programmable settings — I for “intelligent” (optimizing fuel economy), S for peak wide-open-throttle acceleration with six artificial gear ratios to paddle through, and S# for sharper throttle response and sportier feeling paddle shifts through eight ratios.

On the downside, Subie’s glitchy telematics/connectivity system, controlled either by a low-res Atari-era touch screen or cumbersome voice recognition, is pathetic compared with Ford’s second-gen Sync. The Aha radio app is inferior to Pandora and the nav-traffic rerouting system cries wolf every 90 seconds in L.A. traffic, so you end up stumbling into real jams. But at the end of three days, all six of our testers proclaimed the Subaru the high- zoot cute-ute they’d sooner park in their garages.

Seating

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